A WHITCHURCH racing driver has seen his team make a successful return to the track in the 2021 F1000 Championship series.

Andrew Wheals and his team mate Lee Morgan of Telford – both members of Perpetuum Motorsport, were competing in the first round of the 2021 championship at Silverstone.

Morgan took the two wins, setting a new lap record and taking home the Driver of the Meeting award.

The first win was a lights to flag victory from pole position, while his second win was from the top eight reversed grid race, where Morgan came through from eighth place to take the lead by lap two, setting the lap record on lap five.

Team mate Wheals, of Whitchurch, had mixed results meanwhile, starting with 19th place in qualifying.

He made progress in race one to finish in 16th place after running as high as 14th place.

Race two unfortunately ended with a DNF (did not finish) after he picked up damage to the front wing.

But it was not all bad news, as Wheals' pace lapping saw an impressive 56.3 second lap, putting him in 13th place for race three

However, race three ended in disaster with a fire and blown engine.

"The talent for 2021 is immense," said Wheals.

"Back in 2015, a 56.3 second lap would have put me in fifth position rather than 13th.

"It's certainly going to be a challenging season.

"We have a lot of work to do now to turn the car around for round two of the championship at Donington Park on May 22 but we will get there."

Morgan's weekend was a lot more positive and he was delighted with the results.

"After a year of social distancing, event cancellations and mask-wearing, it was a fantastic feeling to be back on the track at Silverstone and I was delighted to pick up the award for Driver of the Meeting," he said.

Morgan is now in fourth position overall in the championship series with 12 races to go and just 14 points behind the leader.

The talented petrol-heads said they have high hopes for the rest of the season.

Morgan added: "We are so excited that the 2021 Championship series is going ahead.

"There were definitely lots of positives to take away from Silverstone and picking up some silverware in the race was great."

Perpetuum Motorsports is sponsored by D4Drivers, whose head offices are in Shropshire.

The company completes motorsport medicals at times to suit drivers, including evenings and weekends, at 85 locations across the UK.

Ryan Vaughan, of D4Drivers, said: "We are really pleased to see Perpetuum Motorsport back on the track and enjoying racing again.

"Well done to both team members and we're looking forward to following you through the season."